Lost December — Richard Paul Evans

“It has been said that sometimes the greatest hope in our lives is just a second chance to do what we should have done right in the first place. This is the story of my second chance.” -- Prologue of Lost December

When Luke Crisp graduates from business school, his father, CEO and co-founder of Fortune 500 Crisp's Copy Centers, is ready to share some good news: he wants to turn the family business over to his son. But Luke has other plans. Taking control of his trust fund, Luke leaves home to pursue a life of reckless indulgence.

But when his funds run out, so do his friends. Humbled, alone, and too ashamed to ask his father for help, Luke secretly takes a lowly job at one of his father's copy centers. There he falls in love with a struggling single mother and begins to understand the greatest source of personal joy.

Lost December is Richard Paul Evans's modern-day holiday version of the biblical story of the prodigal son, a powerful tale of redemption, hope, and the true meaning of love.